The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to revise the existing campaign rules and regulations for the 2022 national and local elections due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Comelec commissioner Aimee Ferolino-Ampoloquio said during their first media conference for the upcoming elections that the current guidelines for the campaigns are still limited to face-to-face arrangement.
“We are studying the possibility of modifying our rules on campaign since we have a pandemic. We will see if we can do that as we progress,” she said.
Ferolino-Ampoloquio explained that they are considering the executions implemented in other countries during their election campaign period amid the pandemic and surge in Covid-19 cases.
“If it is not advisable for the candidates to go on face-to-face campaign, I think we may limit or introduce some other forms of campaign that the candidates can adopt,” she said.
The Comelec assured the public that the presidential debates for the 2022 national and local elections will still happen. However, they are still planning on whether these will be held virtually, physically, or through a hybrid set-up.
“Definitely there will be a presidential debate, but then again the question is: will it be a face-to-face or virtual?” Comelec commissioner Marlon Casquejo said in the same briefing.
The presidential debates is one of the agenda to be discussed during the Comelec conference on Monday.
Filing for candidacy for national and local positions will start on October 1 until October 8, 2021. Ronald dela Cruz